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Greek Mythology has always fascinated me. The image of the harpy has always been one of my favorites. Their purpose was
to bedevil evildoers, but they are usually portrayed as ugly and vicious. Powerful females don't need to be portrayed
that way. My harpy is beautiful and strong. Her wings' patterns are taken from a butterflys' and her coloring is dynamic.
This was a breakthrough piece for me. Not only was it the largest doll I've worked on , it also was the first
time I used a padded framework for a completely beaded hair style. I also perfected the stained glass style of wing on
this piece as well.
The Snake Goddess continued the beaded hair technique that I experimented with while working on Red Wing.
I took the technique even further with this piece, because I was patterning the hair style after the elaborate oiled and braided
hair dos of Mycenaean women. I wanted to cover this doll with as much pattern as possible, but didn't want to use a print
fabric for the skin on the torso,arms, and head. Using the tattoo patterns common to the Maori(natives of New Zealand), was
my solution to this problem.The black patterns are strips of fabric stitched on by hand.
| Snake Goddess |
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| side view to show beaded hair |
On this doll, I jointed the neck so that the weight of the beaded hair could make the head pivot before it settles
into place.
| Snake Goddess |
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| neck is jointed so the head pivots |
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